Ground leveling attachment for tractor cultivators



L. M. LEWISON May 9, 1933.

GROUND LEVELING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTOR CULTIVATORS Filed Oct. 3, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 :EQEQEEE May 9, 1933.

GROUND LEVELING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTOR CULTIVATORS L. M. LEWISON 1,907,842

Filed Oct 3, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mwenlw gmnde, 16%023622 "lllllllllllllllllllllg J5 Kw? my i'gi,

Patented May 9, 1933 Y UNITED S AT -s PATENT 5 tionot the leveling mechanism.

LAVI'R-ENGE Id. LEWISON, OF SIOUX RAPIDS, IOWA-j eno'oivn LEVELING ATTACHMENT FOR TRAoToR GULTIVATORS Applicationvfiled Octoberfi, 1932. :SerialNo. 635,909.

and level the surface in advance of the trout tractor wheels, said ground leveling member being capableot conjunctive'movement to and trom operative position through actuation of the mechanism for adjusting the posi tion of the cultivating devices. p Still-another ob'ect of the invention is to provide an attachment of the characterjset forth which may be attached to the tractor cultivator and tractor without making any changes or alterations in theoriginal construction of the, mechanism;

. Another object of the invention is to pros vide .an attachm ent of the character set forth whic lrisefiicient and yet simple and comparativelyinexp'ensiveas wellas capable. of being easily and quickly at-tached to the machine.

KVith these and other objects in View 'my invention consists fin the construction, arrangement wa-nd, combination of thevarious parts of, my device, whereby the objects con templated, are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed .out in my claims, and "lustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which: r Figure 1 is side, elevation illustrating a ortion of a tractor equipped with a tractor cultivatorv and having my improved ground leveling attachment applied thereto, the

dotted lines ndicating the inoperative posi- Figure Qis a frontperspective view show-f ing the attachment applied to the irame of, a tractor cultivator. y

raising some crops, such as corn, it is customary to plant the seed in such-manner that the plants arearranged in rows not only lengthwise but also crosswise ofthe field. In cultivating such crops it is .customarjy to cult'i vate first in one direction andIthen in another direction at right angles thereto and such cross-cultivation, ,as it is sometimes called, makes it necessary, after the first cultivating operation, to travel across the alternate ridges and trenches which, are formedby previous cultivating operations. When tractor operated machinery employed forsuch cultiva tion, the rate oftravel is considerably faslter thanyvith the old type of horse-drawn machinery, and the consequent joltingfcaused by driving across these ridges is very uncom- 5 tortable to the operator and also imposes an additionalst'rain on the tractor and cultivator. 7Q It is-tor the purpose of relieving this diS- comfort and strain,cnot only with respect to the operator but also upon the machine,that

my present invention has been designed. It involves the use ,of a groundlevelingshovel or sweep which is arranged to travelin ads vanceof the forward wheel or. wheels ofthe tractor, therebyleveling' ofi the ridges at the points where the front, wheels are to travel. Y This attachment is adapted to be applied to the frame Work of-the'cultivator groundleveling member is capable of being moved vinto and out of operative position by and through the'same mechanisms which are employed to obtain similar movementsof 8 i the cultivating devices. v V

The tractor to which'the mechanism is here shown as beingattached is of the type known as thefrow croptype,- having;a single wheel ora pairof wheels placedclose togetherat the front ott-hetractor for sup--.

porting and guiding the machine. lt-is -to be understood, however, that my attachment may be applied to different types oi tractors equipped with difterent cultivating attaeh about to be described. 7 Th ract nse rlalinqludesa air im -11 avi g w t r n ?q lum l re e hef 12 vertically.gairranged rd end a d h v n s abl m en ilfor Jameson Which is carried by the tractor and the ments' from those. shown; inithe drawings and 9 to the front wheel or wheels designated by the numeral 14, in such manner'that the The tractor cultivator is adapted to beapplied directly to thetractor in such man-, ner that the cultivating devices are arranged somewhat rearwardly and outside of the line of draft of the wheels 14 and are controlled by mechanism located near the operators seat. V

In the type of tractor cultivator herein shown there is employed a frame or support including a tubular main beam 18 which is arms having bearings 34 at their lower ends.

arranged transversely in a position in front of the tractor, and the cultivator gangs are arrangedin trailing relation with respect to said frame and beam.

'A pair of supporting and shifting arms 20 are provided, these members being turned upwardly at their rear ends and 1ournaled in bearings 22 at the forward end of the tractor frame 10. At their forward ends the arms 20 are provided with similar pivotal connections to the frame which includes the main beam 18 and by this means said frame is supported in front of the tractor and s permitted to shift in a direction transversely of :the tractor. j

'Tofthe steering post or front axleshaft 12 is rigidly fixed a shifting lever 24 which projects forwardly and has connections through a link 26 and arm 28 with the main frame wherebysaid frame, including the main beam 18,:is moved transversely of the lineof travel,

through an arc, in accordance with rotary movement of the member 12, as the steering wheels 14 of the tractor are turned. The pivotal connection of the main frame through 'thefpivoted shifting arms 20 permits the shifting movement so that the cultivating devices are caused to conform substantially tomovements ofthe tractor from a straight line. 7 V 1 A plurality of bracket arms 30 are fixed by means of clamping devices 32 to the main beam "18 at spaced intervals, said bracket ForQ-the two-row type of cultivator there are two of the bracket'arms 30 on each side of the/center lineof the machine and in each pair of. said arms isjournaled an arched shaft 36, each having at its ends' journal V portion's'rotatably engaged in the bearings 34and at its center a decidedly arched portion. 1 Each' of the cultivator gangs includes cultivator beams 38 carrying at their rear ends 1 any suitable type of cultivating devices 40. ,At their forward ends the beams 38-are pro ranged slide bearing vided with bearings 42 which engage journal portions 44 on the arched shafts 36.

At the centers of the archedportions of the shafts 86 are bearing members 46 which are attached to the forward ends of elongated control bars 48 extending rearwardly on opposite sides of the tractor; The control bars 48 are pivotally engaged at their rear ends with pivots 50 carried by control levers 52 adapted formanual actuation by the operator to raise and lower the cultivating devices and thus place them selectively in inoperative or operative positions. The operation of regulating the positions of the cultivator devices is accomplished by moving the levers 52 through arcs for rocking the arched shafts 86, the forward movement of the levers permitting the beams 38 of the cultivator gangs to be lifted by the action of the lifting springs 54 each fixed at one end to a part of the main frame of the cultivator and at its opposite end to apart on the arched shaft. The control levers 52 are provided with suitable detent devices 56 for engagement with notched segments 58 whereby said levers will be held inany position to which they are adjusted manually. I i

The elements thus far described are common and well known and constitute portions of the structure of the tractor and tractormounted cultivator. They have been illustrated and described to the foregoing extent merely for the purpose of'furnishing a 'basis' for the description of my improvements 7 'WlllCll are applied thereto. It'is to be unlower frame bar 60 which is arranged trans versely and is secured by U-bolts or the like 62. to thelower end portions of the two intermediate bracket arms 30 of the main frame. Theframe bar 60 carries in its central portion a vertically arranged slide bearing 64. i

I also employ an upper frame bar 66 which is arranged transversely adjacent the central portion of the main beam l8 and which may be supported by some of the bolts 68 which are employed for the two intermediate clampprovided at its center with a vertically ar- 67 which is in alignment with the slide bearing 64.

Bearing brackets 7 0 are arranged near the end portions of the upper frame bar 66 and extend upwardly and somewhat rearwardly,

these brackets being supported by the same bolts 68 which are employed for the frame bar66. The brackets 70 are provided with ing devices 32. The upper frame bar 66 is 1 bearings 72 at their upper ends and in these. bearmgs 1s JOHI'IIalGClQ. rock shaft 74'which 7 is held against longitudinal movement byset collars 76.- The rock shaft 74 is provided at its end with a downwardly extending crank arm 78.

A shovel beam is arranged for vertical sliding movement in the bearings 64-68 and carries at its lower end a ground leveling member 82. The member 82 may be of any suitable form and construction, such as a shovel or sweep, for smoothing the surface of the ground in advance of the forward tractor wheel or wheels 14, preferably being so ar-. ranged as to throw the dirt to both sides of the center line of travel.

A lifting arm 84 is rigidly attached at one end as by means of a clamp device 86 to the central portion of the rock shaft 74 and said arm extends forwardly and is formed with a longitudinal slot 88 through which extends a bolt 90 seated in the vertical shovel beam 80. When the shaft 74 is rocked the lifting arm 84 functions to raise or lower the beam 80, thereby placing the ground leveling member 82 in inoperative or operative position.

A. control bar for the ground leveling device is provided and as here shown is formed in two parts, namely a tubular member 92 and a telescoping member 94 slidably mountedin the forward endthereof. The member 94 is pivoted to the lower end of the crank arm 78 by a bolt or the like 96 and this connection preferably is adjustable as indicated in Figure 1. The member 94 normally is yieldingly held rearwardly to the extent of a telescoping action by means of a stiff coil spring 98 fixed at one end thereto and at its opposite end to a set collar 100 on the tubular member 92.

The member 92 of the control bar is provided at its rear end with'a reduced shank 102 which pivotally engages the pivot member 50 of the control lever'52 whereby the control bar for the ground leveling device is shifted simultaneously with the movements of the control bar 48 for the cultivator gangs. In other wordswhen the control lever 52 is moved forwardly, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1, for the purpose of permitting the cultivator gangs to be lifted to inoperative position, this movement likewise results in a forward shifting of the control'bar 92-94 and a rocking movement of the shaft 74, this latter movement resulting in a lifting ofthe shovel beam 80 and ground leveling member 92 as also indicated by dotted lines. A reverse movement of the parts will result in placing the cultivating device in operative position and also placing the member 92 in position for leveling off the ridges and trenches over which the machine may be traveling. g

This attachment is readily applied to a tractor and tractor-mounted cultivator without making any changes whatever in the construction of the latter and without the neces sity for drilling holes, the only change required being the substitution of longer bolts 68 or pivot members 50 for connecting cer-' tainof the' parts. I r 1: I r

1 he use of this attachment results in greatlyincreased' comfort and convenience to the operator because it eliminates the jolting which would be occasioned by rather rapid.

travel of the machine'over rough ground, particularly in the operation of cross-cultivating as previously set forth. It is also of advantage in thereby eliminatingsome of the strain on' the tractor and cultivator sorthat' more eflicient operation is secured.

.Thecushioning spring 98 between/the two parts of the control bar 92 and 94 is supplied for the" vpurpose of permitting a yielding movement of the member 94 outwardly of the tubular member 92. This provides means to prevent injury to the mechanism in the event the leveling member 82 should pass over a stone or other obstruction.

Some changes may be madein the construc- 1 tion and arrangement of the parts of my de- 1'. JA. ground-leveling attachment for i a tractor cultivator having a frame and having cultivating devices carried bythe frame and adjustable to and from operative position;

said attachment comprising frame members I frame ofthe cultivator, a beam carried by 9 said frame members, and a levelingmember carried by said beam and adapted to travel in advance. of the forward wheels of the tractor, said beam being movable relative to V105 leveli-ng attachment for tractor cultivators comprising frame members 7 adapted to'be' mounted on the supportingframe of the cultivator, a beam mounted for vertical sliding movement on' said .frame' members, aleveling member carried by said beam and adapted to travel in advanceof I the forward wheels of the tractor, a rock shaft 1 rotatablyi carried by said frame members, an

arm on said rock shaft having a pivotal con- 1 nection with said beam,.a crank arm on said rockishaft, and a manually actuated control 7 bar pivotally connected with said crank arm 7 for rocking said shaft and thereby moving the leveling member Ito and from groundengagingposition. j p

3. A ground-leveling attachment for a tractor cultivator having a frame and having cultivating device's carried-by the frame and adapted to be mounted on 'the'supp orting adjustable to and from operative position, i

said attachment comprising framemembers adapted-to be mounted-onthe supporting frame ofthe cultivator, a beam mounted for' vertical sliding: movement on. said; frame members, 'a levelingg member carried by said beamand :adaptedto-travel 'in advance of the 1 forward Wheels of the tractor, a :rock shaft rotatably carried by said frame members, an

arm on said rock shaft'havinga pivotal con-.

nection with said beam, a'crank arm on said rock shaft, and a'manually actuated controlbar pivotally-connected with said crank= arm for rocking said shaft and thereby moving the leveling member-to and from ground-en gaging position,- said control bar being operativelyconnected to the devicescemployed for moving the cultivating device to and from operative position.

4. A ground-levelingattachment for tractor cu'lti-vators comprising frame members adapted to be mounted on' the'supporting frame of-the cultivator, a beam mounted for vertical sliding. movement on said frame members, a leveling. member carried by said beam and'adapted to travel in advance of the forward Wheels of the tractor, a rock shaft rotatably carried by said frame members, an arm on said rock-shaft having a pivotal connection' With'said beam, a crank'arm on said shaft, :and' a manually actuatedcontrol bar pivota'llyconnected with said crank arm for rockingsaid"shaft and thereby moving the leveling member to and from ground-engaging position, said control bar being formed in :tWo relatively movable parts having a spring-connection between. them to. permit relative yielding, of the parts when the leveling member engagesan obstruction.

5. A ground-leveling attachment for a tractoroultivator having a frame bar arranged transversely at the front ofa tractor and also having bracket arms depending fromvsaid frame. bar 'for supporting portions of the cultivating mechanism and having cultivating devices movable to andfrom operative position; said attachment comprisingframe bars fixed in spacedrelation to said beaman'd' bracket'arms, slide bearings carr1ed by'sa1dtframe bars, a beam slidably mounted in said bearings, a leveling-member on the lower end of said zbeam, .aroclr shaft havingaplvotal connection with said beam,

- and meansforfrocking said shaft for moving said beam andthereby moving the leveling memberzto and from:ground-engaging position simultaneously with the p osition-ing of the Y cultivating devices operative positions.

to operative and" in- DesMoines, IoWa-,'September 16, 1932. i

- qLAWRENCEM. LEWIsoN; I 

